The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was formally launched on 17th August 2002 under a Treaty, and consists of 14 Member States with an estimated total population of 200 million people. In its programmes and
operations, SADC is guided by a clear mission statement, which is "To promote sustainable
and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient productive systems, deeper co-operation and integration, good governance, and durable peace and security, so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy".

It is worth noting that SADC's integration agenda accords priority to social
and human development including fostering of cooperation in addressing health challenges which are reflected in the high burden of both communicable such as
HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and non-communicable diseases which include diabetes, hypertension and cancer. In order to address these challenges, the
region has adopted a collective approach and identified health as one of the priority
areas in its regional cooperation and integration agenda. To this end, a SADC Health Programme was developed in 1997. The region also prioritized the development of
a Protocol on health matters as this was seen as critical for enhancing regional integration within a legally enforceable framework. Three key policy documents
have been developed to underpin the implementation of the Programme, namely: Health Policy Framework, SADC Protocol on Health and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). The SADC Health Programme has been developed taking into account global and regional health declarations and targets.

SADC has identified the need to develop and implement a Pharmaceutical Programme in line with the SADC Health Protocol and the SADC Health Policy. The purpose of the programme is to enhance the capacities of Member States to effectively prevent and treat diseases that are of major concern to public
health in the Region. The Programme mainly addresses issues that concern access to quality medicines in all Member States. The SADC Pharmaceutical Business Plan has been developed within the context of global, continental and regional policy
frameworks, protocols and commitments. Based on a SWOT analysis, the Plan identifies
priority areas, objectives and major activities that will be implemented both at
regional and national levels to improve access to quality and affordable essential medicines including African Traditional Medicines.

The overall goal of the SADC Pharmaceutical Business Plan is to ensure
availability of essential medicines including African Traditional Medicines to reduce disease burden in the region. Its main objective is to improve sustainable availability
and access to affordable, quality, safe, efficacious essential medicines including
African Traditional Medicines. In order to achieve the overall goal and the main
objective, the following strategies will be pursued:

iv). Promoting joint procurement of therapeutically beneficial medicines of acceptable safety, proven efficacy and quality to the people who need them most at affordable prices;

v). Establishing a regional databank of traditional medicine, medicinal plants and procedures in order to ensure their protection in accordance with regimes and related intellectual property rights governing genetic resources, plant varieties and biotechnology;

vii). Developing mechanisms to respond to emergency pharmaceutical needs of the region; and

viii). Facilitate the trade in pharmaceuticals within SADC.

In line with the SADC Protocol on Health, the Implementation Plan for the
Protocol and the SADC Health Policy Framework, the SADC Pharmaceutical Business Plan will be coordinated and implemented through the approved SADC structure. The Business Plan has spelt out clear roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders
that will be involved in the implementation process. At the political level, the implementation of the Plan will be monitored through the established
institutional framework.

The implementation of the Plan will require substantial resources including
human, material and financial from different sources. The Plan is estimated to cost
US$16 million. To ensure ownership and sustainability, Member States will be required
to budget for implementation of some of the interventions that need ongoing
financial support. The SADC Secretariat will make all efforts to mobilize resources from
key stakeholders including International Co-operating Partners.

A monitoring and evaluation framework has been included in order to review activities during implementation process. The Secretariat will facilitate
capacity building on monitoring and evaluation. Appropriate technical and financial
reports will be produced during and after implementation of program specific activities
outlined in the Pharmaceutical Business Plan.